The Purple Hearts

Dropping their shady punk past as Jack Plug & The Sockets, this Romford four-piece were figureheads for the Essex Mod stronghold, well before Secret Affair, and named after a popular 1960's drug, beloved of the original pill-popping Mod clubbers. Millions Like Us was the debut 45 from the band - a call-to-arms for Mods everywhere.

Their next single, Frustration, revisited the same post-pubescent emotions as The Who's I Can't Explain, with a brilliant pop art sleeve to match. The flip-side was Extraordinary Sensations, the title given to one of the era's most influential Mod fanzines in Britain.

Undoubtedly inspired by the lead character in the Mod movie Quadrophenia, Jimmy was the Purple Hearts last single on the Fiction label. It was released three months before their very promising debut album, Beat That! with its shades of psychedelia and the odd knowing cover version.

The band reappeared on the Safari label with My Life's A Jigsaw. Thereafter, the band struggled to maintain a profile, despite the odd indie comeback (like 1982's Plane Crash) and occasional live reunions.

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Bob Manton
Vocals
Jeff Shadbolt
Bass
Simon Stebbing
Guitar
Gary Sparks
Drums